Godot has finally shown up - and he's selling vacuum cleaners and herbal products that help you "lose weight, gain weight or stay the same". He's also claiming to be a Devout Catholic. These are writings to bide the time until he leaves.

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Sunday, May 1, 2016

Perspective on Charlie

This is from the comment section of Terry Nelson's Abbey Roads blog. I am responding to a defender of Charlie Johnston. I am posting it here because I think it serves as a fair summary of the situation.

The defender says ...

Charlie is a good man. His main message is to "Trust God, Take the next right Step, and be a Sign of Hope to others". Please stop with the negative comments, he is doing much good for many people. We want as many of our brothers and sisters to come back to Christ asap. Read the comments after his blogs, it is one of the best places to be, all these commenters love God and Mamma Mary. God Bless!

He is not a good man. He has lied about walking across America and he lied about corresponding with me for several days and about me changing my blog posts. Today he admitted on his blog that he never corresponded with me. He explains his lie by saying that what he meant by "several days of correspondence" was his putting up blog posts that he assumed I read. He can't even lie well, but apparently that doesn't matter.

And, even though "Trust God, take the next right step, and be a sign of hope to others" is a good message, the "next right step" in this case is to quit following and defending Charlie Johnston.

But the good news in all of this is that the system somehow works. The bishops are speaking out against him and banning him. National Catholic Register has published a well-written and well-researched article skewering him.

And in two years, nobody will remember who Charlie Johnston is. His followers will be on to the next false prophet.

The best liars can do is assert a huge nothing in the face of something.

The rest is mere noise.

... and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free. (John 8:32)

2 comments:

"Charlie Johnston is not a good man." Really. Well, who died and made you the judge of men's heart, Mr. O'Brien?? That statement right there raises a big, huge, ginormous red flag in my book as to your Christian temperament.

Perhaps you would do well to visit the Catechism of the Catholic Church and its section on the Eighth Commandment.

2478 To avoid rash judgment, everyone should be careful to interpret insofar as possible his neighbor's thoughts, words, and deeds in a favorable way:

Every good Christian ought to be more ready to give a favorable interpretation to another's statement than to condemn it. But if he cannot do so, let him ask how the other understands it. And if the latter understands it badly, let the former correct him with love. If that does not suffice, let the Christian try all suitable ways to bring the other to a correct interpretation so that he may be saved.280

2497 By the very nature of their profession, journalists have an obligation to serve the truth and not offend against charity in disseminating information. They should strive to respect, with equal care, the nature of the facts and the limits of critical judgment concerning individuals. They should not stoop to defamation.

I don't know if Mr. Johnston stole your date to the high school prom or what, but you obviously have a personal ax to grind with him. May I humbly suggest that you do that in a face to face meeting with him and on NOT in the pages of national publications such as the National Catholic Register and in petty, snarky posts on your personal blog. On behalf of the body of Christ, I thank you.

He lied about me publicly and tried to turn people against me. He is lying about his "walk across America". He is twisting the truth about the actions of his own bishop. When caught in his lies about me, he simply obfuscated and spewed his own nonsense. These are not the actions of a good man.

And you don't need the Catechism of the Catholic Church to tell you that. You just need common sense.

But here's how the Catholic internet works. Soon Charlie's followers will be saying, "You need to go to confession, Kevin O'Brien!" or "I'll pray for you!" - both of which are internet Catholic speak for "Go to hell!"